The Secret Sin of The Heart
When we hear the words idol worship or idolatry the images that often come to mind are of some ancient or primitive tribe dancing around a carved statue of a fertility god made of wood or stone. These images certainly have no relevance to modern day society as we know it. We naturally assume that in a land that calls itself a “Christian Nation”, where it seems like there is a church on every corner, that idolatry is long gone, dead and buried.
However, what if I were to tell you that not only is paganism and idolatry alive and well, but that it is so pervasive in our society today that it has risen to a level much, much greater than even in biblical times? For the most part, I don’t think this statement shocks most Christians, but only because most feel they are not guilty of this particular sin. After all, we are not like those other religions who worship statues and multiple gods, right? As Lee Courso says on ESPN Gameday… Not so fast my friend!
The shocking truth is that the prevalence of this sin is actually greater among Christians than ever before, especially in America. In fact, it is the most insidious of all sin because of the way it masks itself in the comforts and temptations of our relatively affluent society.
We see time and time again throughout the Old Testament how the fury of God was unleashed against the people of Israel as a result of their idolatrous behavior. They suffered defeats, were exiled, and enslaved numerous times because of their disobedience. It is no surprise that the first two commandments have to do with idolatry: “You shall have no other gods beforeme” (Exodus 20:3) and “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4-6).
“The shocking truth is that the prevalence of this sin is actually greater among Christians than ever before, especially in America”
In the book of Ezekiel, the prophet warns the Israelites over and over about their idolatrous nature and the suffering to come as a result. In fact, I found that the word idol or idolatry is mentioned forty-nine times. What really got my attention however is Ezekiel 14:3 where God changes the game by expanding the definition of idol worship. He says, “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?”. What does God mean when he says “idols of the heart”? Then further in Ezekiel 8:12, the Lord says, “Son of Man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness each at the shrine of his own idol?”.
God is clearly speaking of an idol quite different and distinct from the carved images worshiped by his people at various times in their history. This got me wondering, am I guilty of the same sin as the elders of Israel by worshiping at the altar of my own personal idols? What are these golden calves of the heart that command our emotions and passions even to the point where we are willing to sin to satisfy them?
Heart idols can be defined as those things we put before God in our values, affections, and minds. Some obvious ones are money, sexual desire, financial success, work, power, intelligence, politics, religion, family, and many others (Jon Tyson, Beautiful Resistance). They become idols when we pursue them with more passion than we pursue God. They become so important to us that they drive our behavior and command our emotions which itself is a form of worship. Furthermore, if left to fully metastasize in our hearts, they can cause us to sin to obtain a goal or commit sin when we don’t get what we want, thus allowing our desire to take God’s place.
Some of the most hidden and insidious idols are created when we equivocate our purposes and outcomes with those of God. We in effect create a virtual carven image of God in our own minds. God goes from being the master of our lives to an image of God enslaved to our desires.
An example of this is when we attempt to speak for God by conferring God’s approval or blessing on our goals which can lead to an “any means necessary” way of living. God’s goals and our own are often quite different and to infer that God blesses our desires and the methods of achieving even worthy desires can be a form of idolatry. This is because in doing this, we form an image of God based on what we want. Is it any wonder that we often reference material blessings represented by our idols when we talk about being blessed?
“God goes from being the master of our lives to an image of God enslaved to our desires.”
However, Jesus tells us in the beatitudes that the ones who are blessed by God are those with little or no wealth, power, or status at all (Matthew 5: 3-12). We are not blessed because of material things but only by the blessing of the grace of God given to us by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. We are blessed by his love regardless of our physical, social or economic status. Therefore, we must ask for his blessing and submit our will to God instead of lifting up our will as if it is God’s.
We can see this form of idolism creeping into Christian theology through the “name it, and claim it” or the “prosperity gospel” whereby we tell God what he must do for us instead of subjecting our desires to his will. God is simply commanded to give us what we want as if God is a genie or an ATM machine that dispenses free money.
I’m not 100% sure about much in life or theology, but I am sure of the following statement: Jesus did not die for us individually or corporeally as a nation so we can have more money, power, sex, food, or anything else that we desire. All of these things can be used for God’s purposes of course, but when we use and abuse them in excess solely for our purposes it is idolatrous. More importantly, to suggest that any being other than God can speak anything into existence is antithetical to the word of God. It echoes the words of Satan spoken to Eve as he tells her that she too can be like God. This is the ultimate act of idolatry.
We can see evidence of this in the secular field as well in popular books such as The Secret which follows the same errant philosophy. According to what the author calls “The Law of Attraction”, all we have to do to get what we want from “the greater power” is to believe in it enough and voila, it shows up! Again, this philosophy is not biblical because it says that we are in effect little gods who can call into existence whatever we desire just as the God of the universe who made us. This is idolatry and borderline blasphemy.
“I’m not 100% sure about much in life or theology, but I am sure of the following statement: Jesus did not die for us individually or corporeally as a nation so we can have more money, power, sex, food, or anything else that we desire”
In Ezekiel 14:3, God says that these idols are stumbling blocks that keep us from him. We also hear the same message from Jesus in Matthew 19: 16-24. A man approaches Jesus and asks him what he must do to get to heaven. Jesus asks the man if he has kept the commandments to which the man replies that he had. So far so good. Then Jesus tells the man that he must sell everything he owns if he wants to enter his kingdom. At this, the man shrinks away in despair because this sacrifice is too much for him to bear. It was not the man’s wealth that prevented him from entering the kingdom of God, but it was his love of his wealth which he idolized and ultimately put above God. In this case, it cost this man eternal life itself.
We can see how high the cost of idol worship can be…. loss of eternal life in heaven. However, if we are willing to do away with our heart idols and submit them to God then there is great hope. God says in Ezekiel 14:6, “Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices”. For if we do this God says,” I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
In order to remove the stumbling blocks of our idols and be fully obedient to God, we must replace our idols of the heart which cause us to have a “heart of stone”. When we do this, God will turn our heart into a “heart of the flesh” which will then allow God to fully express himself in us through the Holy Spirit. As Pastor Waylon Bailey describes it, “A heart of flesh is a heart as God designed it to be-in complete obedience to God’s will” (As You Go, Biblical Foundations for Evangelism).
So how do you identify the personal idols in your life? There are three things I suggest you can do.
A heart of flesh is a heart as God designed it to be-in complete obedience to God’s will
Pastor Waylon Bailey
First, examine each of the things in your life that you are most passionate about. Does it move you to action? Does it take up more space in your thoughts and express itself in your actions more than God?
Second, does this thing you love cause you to sin in order to obtain or keep it in your life? What are the fruits of this thing in your life? A good measure is to compare it to the fruits of the spirit as described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Hold it up and ask yourself, do your actions in pursuit of this thing produce love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Conversely, ask yourself if the actions you take in pursuit of this thing cause immorality, impurity, debauchery, hatred, discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dimensions, factions and envy? (Galatians 5: 19-21). If it is the former then more than likely it is not an idol. However, if it fits into the latter, then perhaps it is taking the place of God in your heart.
Third, have you offered the thing to God and submitted it to be used for God’s will and glory? Furthermore, are you willing to give it up if God tells you that it is a stumbling block keeping you from entering His kingdom? If not, then you are surely holding it in more esteem than God and it is an idol.
Recognizing our idols is not an easy task. However, with perseverance and determination we can remove them by carefully examining everything we love, crave, and respect and submit it to the will of God. In doing this we also will be following what our Lord told us is the first and greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37-38). For in doing so we can look forward to our new creation in Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
